We arrived into Puerto Princesa from Manila on an evening flight and had to spend the night in a hotel near the airport as we wouldn’t make the last bus, luckily we were able to find a cheap but really nice hotel. Make sure you check bus schedules or rather yet just spend the night so you aren’t rushing and then getting into El Nido at midnight trying to find your El Nido hotel. After an amazing trip to El Nido and all the things to do in El Nido it was time to say goodbye…
Related Article: El Nido Palawan Guide
How To Get From El Nido to Puerto Princesa
Looking on how to get from El Nido to Puerto Princesa? You have a few options when going from El Nido to Puerto Princesa. PP, as the locals call it, is the transport hub of the island, flights back to Manila will go out of here. If you’re trying to get to visit as many of the best places in the Philippines as possible you should consider flying. There is an airport in El Nido offering direct flights to Manila and Cebu for roughly $115 USD one way. Here are the land options, which happen to be the cheapest way to El Nido:
Option #1: Coach bus
You will need to get to the bus station from town, a tricycle for two people should be no more than 50P and as low as 30P. You may want to buy a bus ticket the day before to guarantee a seat or arrive about a half hour before departure time.
There are two companies that run coach service from El Nido to Puerto Princesa, Cherry, and RoRo. Each stop along the way in the towns of Taytay and Roxas. They will also stop for just about every local on the side of the road.
How Much Is the Bus To Puerto Princesa? How Long Is The Bus From El Nido To Puerto Princesa?
Price: Cherry: 380P NON-AC bus or 480 AC bus
As a note, not all buses have AC and seems to be every other bus departing time. El Nido bus schedule is below for El Nido to Puerto Princesa on both Cherry and Roro.
RoRo Bus Schedule El Nido to Puerto Princesa:
- 4 am – Non-AC
- 6 am – AC
- 8 am – Non-AC
- 10 am – AC
- 12 pm – Non-AC
- 2 pm – AC
- 4 pm – Non-AC
- 6 pm – AC
- 8 pm – Non-AC
- 10 pm – AC
When attempting to purchase tickets at the El Nido bus station it seemed as if they had never sold a ticket before, after a long confusing conversation trying to confirm times and if the bus had AC we opted to go with Cherry. We took RoRo on the way from Puerto Princesa to El Nido and it was fine.
Related Article: Puerto Princesa to El Nido
The locals seem to prefer Cherry, but we didn’t see a big difference except for the crew on our trip was very unprofessional. Distracting the driver on purpose as a game, they also had a game to lock the baggage guy out of the bus at every stop which only lengthened each stop. I am sure it’s not the norm but still annoying. The buses get very full around El Nido and Puerto Princesa but other than that you have a good amount of room.
Cherry Bus Schedule From El Nido To Puerto Princesa:
- 5 am – Non-AC
- 7 am – Non-AC
- 9 am – AC
- 11 am – AC
- 1 pm – AC
- 3 pm – Non-AC
- 5 pm- AC
- 7 pm- Non-AC
- 9 pm – AC
*The times listed are updated from Cherry Bus Website and the picture doesn’t have the accurate times*
Option #2: Shuttle Van To Puerto Princesa
How Much Is The Shuttle Van From El Nido To Puerto Princesa? How Long Does The Shuttle Van Take?
Price: 500P To San Jose Terminal or 600P To Puerto Princesa Airport
Time: 5 Hours
This service is very straightforward and can be arranged just about everywhere in town. They will pick you up at your hotel and take you directly to your destination in Puerto Princesa.
The downside for us is that you are smashed into a full (or overfull) minivan for the whole trip. We find the buses more comfortable, but slower.
Shuttle Van Schedule From El Nido To Puerto Princesa:
- 5 am
- 7 am
- 8 am
- 9:30 am
- 11 am
- 1 pm
- 2:30 pm
- 4 pm
- 5:30 pm
- 8:30 pm
Either option will be a slightly bumpy ride as the road is not paved the whole way. The 30Km or so outside El Nido is only randomly paved and construction is in process.
We made our flight straight from the bus station so we didn’t have to spend the night in a hotel near the airport for an extra night, but you may want to consider this in your schedule. There are also several Airbnb listings near the airport and many hosts will come to meet you at the airport.
Airbnb first-timers, if you sign up through my referral link you get $40 credit when you book your first trip! –>> sign up here! If you already have an account register a second account for your travel partner to get $40 off your next trip.
Looking for additional Philippines Post:
hey, I will be in El Nido and looking at booking a flight from PP that leaves at 8:55am. How long does the bus take and what time would I need to leave to make sure I had plenty of time?
The bus can take around 6-8 hour one way between PP and El Nido. I just did this drive in a rental car last month and it took me almost 6 hours. It’s a long drive. If you have a morning flight you will have to leave the day before and stay overnight in PP or in the airport. Hope you have a great trip!
Hi, my flight land just gone 4pm would you suggest staying near the hotel for the night and getting the bus the following morning? Or is it safe enough to get to El Nido late at night?
Thanks
IF you are taking the bus I don’t see any major safety concerns. Make sure your hotel knows you will be coming in late. If you don’t plan on doing anything near Puerto Princessa, I personally would much rather wake up in my destination and enjoy the day rather than have another travel day.
Hi there, was the bus delayed at all? Just worried that if we get the van or bus back to Puerto Princesa that it’s delayed for some reason and then miss our flight.
I personally wouldn’t cut it close. You never know if the bus will break down etc. I would take an earlier bus if you can and make sure you give yourself several hours of leeway time. You will have to take a taxi from the bus station to the airport as well.
How much for a private van to El Nido from Puerto Princessa in January?
Yes there are private transfers from Puerto Princessa to El Nido, you can book it online here http://shrsl.com/n2ih. Safe travels to El Nido.
thank you so much for posting this blog, I and friends bound to puerto princesa on saturday then to El nido we are from Cebu and it’s our first time in palawan ..enough info for us.. thank you…
Glad we could provide you information on traveling from Puerto Princesa to El Nido. We hope you have an amazing trip, El Nido is out of this world! Safe travels.
I’m glad you posted this. I’m planning our trip to Palawan as well for May 2017. El Nido to Puerto Princesa then to Coron. This is very useful information. I was born there but now migrated to Canada. Thank you so much. The bus info from el nido to puerto princesa sums about traveling in remote areas in the provinces are like.
Thank you, this was very useful for preparing our future trip to Palawan.
Glad we could help you plan your trip to El Nido, safe travels.
Hi! May I ask what time did you arrived in Puerto Princesa Airport as you couldn’t catch the last trip of BUS?
Honestly not sure the exact time but I think around 6pm, as we had enough time to walk and find dinner in the area.
we had the same arrival time in puerto princesa, so there is a possibility that we couldn’t catch also the last trip? ow ! how sad, Anayway! thank you hannah for the info 🙂
hi 🙂 your blog really inspired me to organise my trip to Philippines, thank you!
ps: silly question, the hotel near the airport you are recommending, they do speak English there, don’t they? on their website, it says five other languages, but english is not mentioned, I assume this is because it is obvious that the staff speaks english hence they did not include it there.. ?
I remember the guy at the hotel spoke good English!